Automatic feeding apparatus for sewing machines



Feb. 9, 1926. l 1,572,351

v l.. J. ELsAs v AUTOMATIC FEEDING-APPARATLS fFoR SEWING MACHINES Filed Jan. 27, 1923 5 sheets-,Sheet 1 \\l z; :i

G C. Y QQ Q vov o o o o 0.o o o o i L" oooo :I

Il x N. o o o o o o`/ Q 11| o a o o ovo l' o o o o o o 0 9 0 O o [Q ooooogfgoooo'o o o '600 0 I 0 v-I' Qi o 1 o o@ 00 I' i la- Q.'P- 2.

. o do. o N- L 0 o .2 o o 'o 0 o o o o o c Io ole' fm1 mm OO/H Feb. 9,1926. `1

L. J. ELSAS AUTOMATIC FEEDLNG APPARATUS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Jam.V 192:, s sheets-sheet a w iQ 'lll/lill mi- Feb." 9 192s. `A1572;351 f L. J. ELsAs AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS FOR SEWING MAGHINES" Filed Jan. 2'?, 192s 5 shets-sheet s Im.. MN.

Feb. 9 1926.

L. J. ELSAS f, AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS FOR SEWING MACHINES Filed Jari. 2v; 192s `5 sheets-sheet 4 Fs. "s, 'l'vz L. J. ELSAS AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS FOR SEWING MACHINES l' Filed Jaa.' 2'?. 192s s'sheets-sneet s TTORNEY l Patented Feb, 9, 1926.

unirse sra-iras l.. am-..

LOUIS J. ELSAS, F ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

AUTOMATIC FEEDING APPARATUS FOR SEWING MACHINES.

Appncation iuea January 27, `1923. seriarivo. 615,244.

To al@ azi/0m t may concern Be it known that I, Louis J. Ensas, a citizen of the United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county ot Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Automatic Feeding Apparatus for Sewing Machines, ot which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates generally to auto- ]3 matic feeding apparatus tor sewing Ymachines. f

The principal object ot the invention is to provide apparatus 'of the general type referred te which will automatically and without the intervention of an operator guide material or a succession otxpiecesol` n'iaterial through the stitching mechanisin'ot a sewinomachine to produce an arrangement ot stitching in the material that eis v 29 actly corresponds to and duplicates a predetermined design.. y

The invention includes the provision et means for `feediugthe material to the needle and in automatically changing the direction oi travelolk thematerial inaccordance with the changing direction ot' the corresponding line et stitching in the original pattern or design. rllie means tor feeding the material through vthe stitching mechanism pretcrably consists of a continuously traveling carrier belt against the surface ot which the material is held by suction and moved through the stitching position. l In ,connection with the materialscarrying belt is employed means tor releasing the suc-tion and rotating the material to the right or the lett to thereby produce a corresponding change in the direction of the line ot stitching being produced. .Preferably the manipulation ot the material to produce the changes in direction ot the stitched line are controlled electrically through the use ot contact lingers which are arranged to malle Contact with a common terminal through pert'orations arranged in a moving belt in accordance'with the pattern to be copied.

@ther features of the invention will be f hereinafter referred to.

ln the drawings in which a preferred enr bodiment et the invention has been seleted tor illustration,

Figure l lis a plan view partly in section and partly broken away ot' .a sewing man chine `feeding device embodying `the invention.

Figure 2 isa side view partly in vertical section et the device shown in Figure l.

rFigui-.e is a view similar to Figure l taken on a different level,

Figure 4; is `a vertical section taken at right angles lto' Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a view` in detail and partly broken laway ot vmeans tor `n'iovingthe material from side to side. Y

vFigure 6 is a side .View o'l' the-device shown in Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a view in` perspective oit al pneumatic suction device forming part of the invention.

Figure 8 is a view inpcrspective of a raisulating device. I

j Figure 9 is a view in perspective out a supporting and guiding member torthe cloth manipulating device. y

Figure l() is a diagrammatic vieivot an electric circuit system used in the control of thev apparatus. f l

Referring to thedrawings for a more detailed description of the invention, there is shown in Figure l an automatic feeding device embodying the invention and including a material carrying belt 5, a source 0f vacuum 18 tor holding the material` in en-V ing and lowerimr device `for the cloth manipgagement with the belt, a material manipulating ,and guiding device 7, and control Vmechanism including contact fingers 8 and a perforated belt section 9 for governing the operation -ot the material manipulating device 7 4 The material carrying or `feeding belt `5 passes about drums l() and 11 suitably journaled in theframework 12a ot' the machine. One of the druinsas 10 isdriven through a worm-drive connectionbetween its shaft l2 and the shaft v13 oLt-anelectric motor 14.011 any other `suitable source of-power. The

belt 5 continuously travels in operation atl a yconstant speed so thatmaterial deposited thereonis carriedthrough the position .ol

the sewing machineneedlefmechanism at` 15.

vth the result' that anlass .the material .is

7oL L directed from its normal course of travel a straight line of stitching will beproduced therein parallel to the direction of travel of the material in its movement With the belt.

The referred to means for holding the material in engagement with the loeltV includes a acuum chamber16 which is connected through the pipe V17 with an exhausting pump 18 and driven from the motor shaft- 13. Preferably a supplemental W- pressure chamber 19 is also provided which can be placed incomn'iunication with the main chamber 16 through the Valve 20. Suitable suction nozzles 21 communicating with the supplemental exhaust chamber 19 engage the lower surface of the upper belt stretch and dravv air therethrough-by Way of perforations 22 provided in the belt for that purpose. Y

It Will be seen that the flow of air through the perforated belt holdsthe material in place against the belt surface.

The mechanism employed at 7 for manipulating and guiding the cloth or other material in its progress through the stitching mechanism includes a cloth engaging foot or member 25 Whose under surface may be faced with soft rubber or other material for grasping or `frictionally holding kthe engaged surface of the cloth When desired.' The cloth engaging foot 25 forms the lower extremity of a hollow.'cylindrical member Q6 provided Witha peripheral flange 27 for engagement by a pair of lifting'deviees, fa groove or runway QSfor kengagement by a pair 'of friction driving Wheels, and a circular frame member S39 holding a ringshaped armature having two oppositely disposed pole pieces 3() arranged for, cooperation -with the pole pieces of a. series of eon trolling magnet coils which operate to' hold the cylindrical member and foot 25 in definite angularpositions.V

`The lifting devices which engage the flange? 27g-consist of a pair of arms 31 provided with flange engaging rollers 32 and mounted on a rock shaft 33. T he rock shaft 33 carries an operating arm 34 provided with a terminal armature member 35v mounted between thepoles of a pair `of oppositcly disposed magnet coils 36 and 37 which function to depress or elevate the material manipulating member as desired. ,i

The friction driving wheels 33 and 39, either 0f which may be brought into engagement with groove 28 of the rotatable cloth manipulating member 29, Vare mounted for rotation in opposite directions in a framework 34 ivhich is pivotally mounted so that both friction wheels can be held normally out of engagement lwith the member 29p ereither friction Wheel swungv into engagement with it to rotate the'.v cloth .manipulating member iu ethei1 direction.

The friction Wheels38 and 39 are continuously driven through peripheral engagement with the intermediate Wheels 41, one of which is fixed to the rotatable shaft 42 which carries a pulley 43 having a belt con- 'nection 44 by Way of the guide pulleys 45 and 46 with the drivingpulley 47 on thc motor drive shaft 13 already referredy to.

In order. to swing either of the continuously and oppositely driven friction Wheels 38 or y39 into engagement With the member 29 to correspondingly rotate the member, an arm 49 is provided on the friction wheel supporting framework 34 which terminates in an armature member 50' normally occupy'- ing a position midway betweenl the pole pieces of a pair of oppositely disposed magnets 51 and 52. A suitable spring 53- holds the arm in its midposition and counteracts any tendency of the driven pulley 43 to rotate the framework out of its normal pok sition. l

In order to vcontrol the operation of the cloth manipulating device 7 electrical regulating devices are utilized which include the magnets 54 mounted in aoircularly disposed arrangement in the annular frame member 55 in Which the cloth manipulating member rotates. The magnets 54 are arranged in pairs inoppositely disposed relation, cach pair of magnets being arranged to cooperate With the pole pieces 30 of the armature carriedby the member 7 in order to hold the armature in the angular position represented by the pair of magnets.' Y

lCaelrpairofpositioning magnets 54 is connected in circuit' ivith'an iiulividnalcon' tart linger 3, thc'banl'o'lf' Contact fingersl being' arranged to engage the surfacoof a se 'u1 9 of the belt 5 and to directly engage through. suitable perforations G4 in the belt. the surfnetof the roll or drum l0 which made of electrically coruluetive material and connected through the conductor 57 with one of the brushes of a suitable electrical goncrator 53 driven by the motor drive shaft 13.' The eorltact lingers 3 are individually eonneited through conductors 59 with different pairs of the positioning magnets 54 andv to the other brush of the generator' through t-he conunon return conductor 6()7 or through the raising and lowering magnets 3G and 37, the angular' positioning magnets 51 and 52, or the valve 20 operating magnet The valve'i/O is brought yto andheld in its normal position by the Weighted arm G2. vrl`he order oli' opeation of thev several units of the apparatus may include the starting of the driving motor 14 to rotate the shaft 13 and thereby cause the operation of the bolt drum 10, the exhaust pump 18, the electric generator58, and the drive pulley'47l for the friction Wheels 38 land 39.

The yumteral .to be seived7 which may be any desired sheet material capable of being `sewed, is placed on the carrier belt 5. Substantially coincidentally with the placing of the material on the belt one of the contact ,by energizes the valve magnet 6l to open they valve and cause suction to be applied to the perforated belt through the nozzles 2l to thereby hold the material in position on the belt. With this set of conditions established the material will be fed through the stitching position of the machine and a straight line of stitching will be produced in the material parallel to the path of travel of the belt 5 and the work carried thereby.

ln order to change the direction of the line of stitching pi'oduced in the material, the perforation through which the contact linger in circuit with the valvemagnet 61 comes to an end and the valve is closed to shut ofi' the suction which has been applied to the traveling carrier belt 5. Simultaneously with the cessation of the suction which held the material in place on the belt, the foot of the material tender 7 is loweied into engagement with the material. Simultaneously one or other of the rotating high speed friction wheels 3S or 39 is swung into engagement with the runway 28 of the material tender T with the result that the cylindrieal framework 26 of the tender 7 is rotatcd in either a clockwise or a counterclocltwise direction. lllhen thc cloth engaged by the foot has been thus turned to effect the production of a line of stitching in the desired direction the corresponding perforation in tliebclt section comes to an end thereby releasing the engagement of the friction wheel with the runway 28. At the saine time, in order to definitely stop the rotation at the desired angular position the proper pair of magnets 54 for the purpose are energized and servo to stop the rotation of the pole pieces 30 in alinement with the selected pair of magnets as will be clear. Simultaneously with this the lifting magnet :3G is energized to lift the foot 25 from the material while suction is again established by energiaation of the magnet 6l to again hold the material in fixed position on the belt while traversing the stitching position of the machine.

lt will thus be seen that the position or arrangement of perlkirations in the belt section Si will control changes in the direction of a line of stitching being produced in the inaterial so that any predetermined design or ont-line will be mechanically and automatically copied without intervention or assist-` ance by an operator other than to feed material to the device.

llllrat l .claim is;w l. ln feeding apparatus for sewing machines, a conveyor belt for carrying material lthrough the stitching position, said belt containing perforations, suction nozzles cooperating withthe perforations in the belt to hold ythe material. in engagement therewith, means forrelatively shifting the position of the material on the belt, and means for governing the suctionl tothe nozzles dui'- -ing the relative shifting movement.

2. lnfeeding apparatus for sewing ,ma-I chines, a conveyor belt for carrying material through the stitching mechanism of the machine, and means for changing the relative position of the material on the conveyor belt to change the direction of the line of stitching being produced.

3. In feeding apparatus for sewing machines, a-conifeyor belt for carrying material through the stitching positionof the machine, a material engaging shoe normally held out of contact with the material', means for lowering the shoe into engagement with lghe material, vmeans for rotating the shoe to the right or left to thereby change the angular position of the material on the belt, means for elevating the shoe out of contact with the material, and electrical means for controlling the .ope ation of the slice, said electrical means including a perforated belt and contact lingers arranged to close controlling circuits through `the perfoations in the belt.

41. In feeding apparatus for sewing machinos, a conveyor vbelt for carrying material through the stitching `position of the machine, suction means for holding the material against the belt, a material engaging shoe normally held outof engageinent with the material, means for releasing the suction, and means for lowering the shoe into contact with the material, means for rotating the shoe to the right or left to change the angular position of the material on the belt,

means vfor elevating` the shoe out of contact on the material during the relative shifting of the material.

6. ln a feeding apparatus for sewing machines, a conveyor for carrying the material through the stitching mechanism of the machine, suction means for holding the material in surface contact with the conveyor, means for relatively `sliifting the material on the Conveyor, and means to release the Suction hold on the material during the relative shifting movement thereof.V

7. In a feeding apparatus for sewing machines, a conveyor kfor carrying the material through the stitching mechanism of the machine, means for holding the material in` surface Contact with the conveyor, a rotatable member adapted to be thrownolnto Sur- 'faeee'ngagementwith the material on the conveyor' to Changel the angular poslnon of the materlal Wlth respect to the Conveyor, and means for releasmg the hold on the materlal'when the rotatable member Ls 1n engagement therewlth.

In testnnony whereof Il aflx my slgnature.

Louis J. ELSAS. 

